Found this product for less somewhere else? Then please let us know and we will beat it! Please note that the cards must be from the same set, in mint condition and in stock.

Full Name:

E-Mail Address:

Message:

Solve This:

( 9 + 4 ) =

Would you like us to restock this item? Please let us know!

If you would like us to restock multiple items then please use our Super Search feature. Alternatively please let us know what other card(s) you would like us to restock below. Please include card name, quantity and edition. If you would like to be automatically notified when this item is restocked then please log in before submitting this request. We restock twice a week.

Reviews & Combos

The new commanders this year are an interesting bunch; the simic commander has a cool counter theme, the izzet general has a combo fetish apparently, orzhov has a new enchantress commander which is a breath of fresh air, boros has more of the same (combat tricks and attack step dominance). Golgari now has a new toy now, too, and I think we can all agree it is going to make some waves in the EDH scene.

Meren of Clan Nel Toth has a respectable body for it's mana cost and not one but two relevant creature types, but that's not what I'm focused on. What I have our eyes on is her...errrr...other abilities. Her recursion ability is meant to be built around so you can mine as much value as possible from your graveyard. The question is what kind of resources do you want to mine? You could potentially build Meren a number of different ways; as aggro, control or combo.

When I first saw Meren I was reminded strongly of Savra; lots of power in need of a sac outlet. I feel that some sort of creature-based aggro/control build would suit her best. A strong supporting staff is in order.

Artifacts:
-Skullclamp is going to net you a lot of value with all the dying cretures
-Birthing pod = sac outlet+tutor. With a proper curve this could turn into bomb after bomb turn after turn.
-Blade of selves = there are quite a few excellent ETBs and death triggers available in these colors , and who can resist playing with a brand new toy? :)
-Spawning pit = this little guy provides a cheap, instant speed sac outlet, budget, too
-Altar of dementia = this could be some sweet tech. You can use this to mill yourself to further abuse reanimation effects or if you really get going you can mill out your opponents.
-Ashnod's altar = you can use this (or the more expensive, money wise, phyrexian altar) to get some mana out of your sacrifices to chain into more spells.

Enchantments:
-Awakening zone = creates tokens that can be self sacrificed to feed you mana and net an experience counter if you have your general out.
-Phyrexian reclamation = insurance in case some of your "friends" roll over you with seven consecutive board wipes in a row :)
-Grave pact/dictate of erebos = really the same kind of effect. You are going to be nuking your own board pretty often so these two will get you a lot of mileage.
-Attrition = depending on your group this could either be awesome or terrible
-Greater good = this thing pulls double duty filling your hand and graveyard
-perilous forays = sac outlet that nets you lands
-Evolutionary leap = sac outlet that fills your hand with new goodies to unleash upon the world

Instants and sorceries:
-Grisly salvage = you get an asset in hand or your grave, and with this deck that boundary is kind of vague.
-commune with nature = see grisly salvage
-mulch = see above
-life from the loam = if you go the self mill route this could provide a lot of value, also combos nicely with strip effects (wasteland, tec edge, stripmine) , all the cycling lands, fetchlands and sac lands
-Wretched confluence = this new toy has three relevant modes for this deck
-Bone splinters = this is cheap, efficient removal that works in tandem with your commander
-Jarad's orders = might as well read "search for two creatures put one into play one into your hand"
-Living death = after a board wipe this can get you back in the zone
-Buried alive = goes great with your general and the aforementioned living death
-black card draw is plentiful; read the bones, night's whisper, sign in blood take your pick they're all great
-there's a ton of instant speed removal you can pick from ranging from krosan grip to murder to beast within. Green/Black has carte blanche when it comes to removal.

The bulk of the value in the deck is going to come from its creatures. There's a laundry list of things you can abuse. It's more personal taste, really. Here are some of my recommendations:

-Burnished hart / wood elves / solemn simulacrum / farhaven elf / sakura tribe elder / yavimaya elder = there's a lot of options when it comes to ramp. I personally stack a lot of mana ramp in my green decks. It all really depends on what you think you can get away with. A good measure that I go for is that every ~3 ramp spells/mana rocks you can subtract 1 land from 40.
-Acidic slime / reclamation sage / sylvok replica / wickerbough elder / = repeatable destruction on a stick is going to clear the board of a lot of pesky permanents
-Fleshbag marauder / slum reaper / merciless executioner = they all come out, sac themselves to their own effect, then you can bring them back at EOT to do it all again. If you have your general out you get two more XP counters and you really break your opponents' backs.
-Eternal witness / greenwarden of murasa = essentially two identical effects one just has a bigger body attached to it
-Gray merchant of asphodel / Kokusho the evening star = depending on how heavily you dip into black you might consider the Gray Merchant as a good budget option. These two are possible places to cut because some groups you just die irregardless of what life you are at (voltron generals, combo decks, alternate win condition decks, etc).

-Fauna shaman = if you feel like you need to play tutors this little guy can take you directly to value town. Her older cousin, Survival of the Fittest, is a more expensive alternative. Both are great at providing value, especially if you include something like Masked Admirers or Genesis in the deck. If you decide to go heavy into search the usual suspects of demonic/vampiric/worldly/sylvan tutor could be used. I'm not personally a fan but if you want more consistency in your deck, those are the places to start.

-Grim haruspex / Harvester of souls = a bunch of card draw throughout a normal game...a ton of card draw in a golgari grave deck :)
-Korozda guildmage = provides a sac outlet and an reusable form of evasion A+
-Oracle of mul daya = this card provides a unique fusion of ramp, card advantage, and information that isn't really available anywhere else. If you decide to get serious about your ramp, this guy deserves serious consideration.
-Pawn of ulamog = like oracle, this guy plays a key role here. Not only does he observe all this murder and provide token fodder but the tokens have a built in sac ability on them, furthering your plans.
-Sidisi, undead vizier = Sidisi has a huge crush on Meren...a weird snakey crush. Sidisi can exploit herself (phrasing!), net you an XP counter, and search up just the card you need, and do it all again with the help of Meren. A match made in heaven.
-Woodfall Primus = this guy wants to hang out with Meren so bad he can't help himself. He'll probably end up in the friendzone but he don't care :)
-Woodland bellower = this guy can tutor up Eternal Witness, Reclamation Sage, Vampire hexmage, Yavimaya elder, Kuon, Ogre ascendant, merciless executioner. Whatever it is you need, this beast can probably get it for you. Add Meren and you are in value town.

There's a ton of different directions you can take Meren. I could see her at the helm of a stax list just as easily as I could see her just being passively used for the value she provides in some kind of aggro deck. She is going to paint an enormous target on your head as soon as you put her in the command zone pre-game. Also, don't expect her to survive for very long if you don't pack and protection for her. An Asceticism might help out, or a Deadbridge Chant if you want to go the recycling route. Any way you slice it the mechanics of this general are basically a one-way ticket to struggle city for your opponents. If you build her correctly your opponents are going to get buried by all the card advantage she creates and by the tidal waves of ETBs/LTBs she enables.

I imagine Meren tending toward grindy board states. Control play takes a lot of thought and patience. I'd recommend not overextending with this deck. If possible, try and eek out every little bit of value you can from Meren without leaving your rear end hanging out. You may be tempted to just run your whole hand out and wing for the fences and I'm can attest as a golgari player that is the easiest way to run head first into a board wipe into graveyard exile. Slowly roll your opponents up and you'll have them all eating from the palm of your hand. As Key and Peele have said "Remember, with great power comes great respons-ra-trill-a-tronce."

Manaleak.com
is rated 4.94 stars by Reviews.co.uk based on 32 merchant reviews

4.94 / 5 Rating

32 Reviews

the best mtg shop in birmingham by far

daniele

Amazing service! Was easy to buy from them, and had my deck within only a few days - as well as this, I was even given a free Rare Card as well along with my Commander Deck.
Definitely going to be buying from them again!

Connor

Manaleak have consistently excellent customer service. They're friendly, professional, and sort out any issues that may arise. Best value for money and selection. Been using them since I started playing MTG and can't see not doing so in the future.
Definitely recommend!